245 - THE CULTURE OF IIT LEADS TO STUDENT SUICIDES

THE CULTURE OF IIT LEADS TO STUDENT SUICIDES

http://indians4socialchange.com/author/jatinbharwani/

When people imagine college life, they think of studying, socializing, and learning. No one thinks of suicide. However, at IIT Kharagpur, suicide is becoming a terrible trend. In the past six years, the university has seen an unprecedented twenty-two suicides. Many school officials say that this number is very high compared to those of the past

Issue

In March of this year, there were two student suicides that happened within a two-week span. Boga Shravan, age twenty-four, committed suicide on March 17 and Lokesh Kumar Goyel, age twenty-two committed suicide on March 30. Both students hung themselves in their rooms. Boga was a computer science student and Lokesh was in his final year of chemical engineering. 

These suicides really took an emotional toll on both the students and faculty. Instead of being able to focus on work, these students must mourn the deaths of their peers. Depression has been speculated in both cases as Boga had completely left Facebook after years of avid use and Kumar admitted in his suicide note that he was facing “some kind of depression”. 

Although often shunned, depression is a prevalent issue at every IIT. Currently over 200 students are seeing doctors at IIT Kharagpur. These psychologists aim to catch depression at its early stages in order to medicate those afflicted.

Causes

The major reason why these students face depression is because of the incredibly intense workload at IIT. These students spend sixteen hours a day, trying to get decent marks in some of the hardest classes. Students must learn very technical things and compete for the best grades. This difficult life perpetuates throughout college and can be very daunting. Even after students graduate, there is no guarantee of a decent paying job.

In Boga’s case, he had received a job with a much lower salary than he had expected. Believing all the hard work in school resulted in almost nothing is a serious stressor for these young adults.

Moving Forward

IIT should work to do more to ensure its students have access to psychologists and counselors whenever they need them. It is important that these students who lead very stressful lives can seek someone to talk to about their issues. 

Additionally, a critical supplementary issue is lack of media coverage. There is very little information presented about student depression at IIT. Depression is still a very embarrassing topic for many Indians. Those suffering from psychological disorders still face brutal ostracism and as a result, many avoid diagnosis. 

A byproduct is self medication through alcohol and illegal drugs. The only way to combat this stigma is to expose people to the consequences of undiagnosed disorders. We need to spread the idea that afflictions like depression can be treated and is important to be treated.

244 - READ THIS BEFORE COMMITTING SUICIDE, THIS MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE

Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.

C. S. Lewis

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

Calvin Coolidge

Before success comes in any man's life, he's sure to meet with much temporary defeat and, perhaps some failures. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and the most logical thing to do is to quit. That's exactly what the majority of men do.

Napoleon Hill

You are capable of more than you know. Choose a goal that seems right for you and strive to be the best, however hard the path. Aim high. Behave honorably. Prepare to be alone at times, and to endure failure. Persist! The world needs all you can give.

E. O. Wilson

When I was young, I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times more work.

George Bernard Shaw

Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.

John Wooden

LOOK AT ALL THE HIGH ACHIEVERS WHO WERE TOTAL FAILURES AND REJECTS..BUT THEY BELIEVED IN THEMSELVES

243 - The bridge between suicide and life by Kevin Briggs - TED Talks

Kevin Briggs:

The bridge between suicide and life

TED2014 · 14:13 · Filmed Mar 2014 

Subtitles available in 1 language 

View interactive transcript

For many years Sergeant Kevin Briggs had a dark, unusual, at times strangely rewarding job: He patrolled the southern end of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, a popular site for suicide attempts. In a sobering, deeply personal talk Briggs shares stories from those he’s spoken — and listened — to standing on the edge of life. He gives a powerful piece of advice to those with loved ones who might be contemplating suicide.

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This talk was presented at an official TED conference, and was featured by our editors on the home page.

 WATCH TED TALKS VIDEO NOW

242 - IIT student's death: Court quashes police closure report, orders probe - Two Circles

IIT student's death: Court quashes police closure report, orders probe

Submitted by IANS on 23 April 2014 - 12:00am

New Delhi : A court Tuesday quashed a closure report filed by Delhi Police in the case of first year student of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, who allegedly committed suicide in 2011.

Rejecting the report, Metropolitan Magistrate Aakash Jain said there have been serious gaps and lacunae in the police investigation. Ordering further investigation by the Vasant Vihar SHO, he directed them to file a status report by July 25.

Chemical engineering student Dinesh Ahlawat (19) from Haryana's Rohtak was found hanging in his hostel room at the Zanskar Hostel wing of the institute Aug 4, 2011. The family suspects foul play.

Advocate Karan Kalia appearing for Ahlawat's father who moved court against police's closure report said that court ordered that "the allegations of the complainant are grave and serious and has to be investigated".

The Delhi Police, Nov 2, 2012 filed a closure report in the case stating that the Ahlawat committed suicide due to the fear of declaration of his result in the class 12 compartmental examination upon which his admission into the IIT was to be confirmed.

Kalia, however, told the court that reason mentioned in the closure report is totally "absurd and is factually incorrect".

"The Investigating Officer stated that Ahlawat was under mental pressure or stress due to declaration of result on the fateful day. The fact is that the result was declared on Aug 2, 2011 and he scored 90 marks in that exams. He had full knowledge of scoring 90 marks before he died," he added.

The advocate further argued that the investigating officer at no point investigated the angle of murder and abetment of suicide due to inhuman ragging, harassment and mental torture.

It was also submitted that police did not investigate the aspect of Ahlawat being murdered after his hands and legs were found to be tied. "The Investigating officer relies only on the report dated June 1, 2012 wherein the doctor opined that the deceased might have tied his own hands and legs in order to prevent any change of mind."

Ahlawat's hands and feet were tied when he was found hanged.

On the day of incident, he was last seen at 1 p.m. at a tea stall near the hostel. IIT officials had claimed the body was discovered at 4 p.m. His roommates immediately informed the authorities and Ahlawat was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

241 - IIT Kharagpur graduate kills self - TNN

IIT Kharagpur graduate kills self

TNN | Apr 19, 2014, 12.53 AM IST

PATNA: A 29-year-old IIT-Kharagpur graduate girl committed suicide by strangulating herself with a dupatta at her house in Purnendu Nagar locality under Phulwarisharif police station area on Wednesday night.

According to sources, the girl, identified as Suchita Kumari, was an IAS aspirant. She took the UPSC examination thrice but failed to clear the mains. She used to be depressed over it.

Her father, a retired bank manager, Harendra Jha knocked on the door of her room on Thursday but she did not open it. Police said the door was closed from inside and they had to break it open.

Patna SSP Manu Maharaaj said, "She left a suicide note on the study table of her room. Her father told the police that she had dinner with the family before entering her room. Everything seemed to be normal at that time. In the suicide note, she did not blame anybody and mentioned she was keen to become an administrative officer. But frustrated with the result, she committed suicide. Her mobile phone has been taken in police custody and her body was handed over to her family after post mortem."

240 - Suicides at IITs: A prospective solution by Ankit Modi

Suicides at IITs: A prospective solution

Ankit Modi (IIT Kanpur       |   2014-04-07 02:34:02   |   

Colleges   |   Opinion   |   Posted By: Invade Cafe

So I was googling about suicides at IITs and there were a no. of links explaining what, how, where and when each of these unfortunate incidents happened. What was missing among those was a 'Why' ? A concrete 'Why'.

I don’t think that academic burden can be the sole reason. Yes, academic pressure might play a part but that’s very different from what I call “academic burden”. The pressure is not there because of the large syllabus or high collegiate content. If that would have been the case then students would not be happy on scoring 50 out of 100 in the tougher courses where class average is 30.

So, the cause behind this pressure seems to be the cut throat competition. And it would always be there no matter how much the course contents are lessened, or contact hours are reduced or gaps between exams are increased. The ideal solution would be to have 100 such IITs for such a large young population. But for now, that’s a distant dream. But till then, can we afford to lose our precious scientific minds at such an early age? No. Absolutely not.

Now that the academic pressure has been sidelined, let’s carry forward our search of that elusive ‘Why’. It's pretty tough to find some commonality in the reasons behind such cases. There are numerous reasons why a person decides to take his/her life and several of those reasons have to come together for it to happen. 

The reasons behind each of the cases might be in stark contrast with the others. But once those reasons have played their part, once an individual has got into that frame of mind, the action that follows is the same for all.

Now, if we can wipe out all the factors which drives a person into that mood, that would be wonderful. But that doesn’t seem to be happening. So, I want to focus on what needs to be done once that frame of mind has been attained. Once the decision to take one’s own life has been taken.

Let’s divide a (suicide) victim’s life in two phases. Phase 1 would be the life which he lived before taking that decision. Let’s call it Pre-decision phase. Similarly, a Post-decision phase (Obviously, the second phase has a few moments or hours.)

Now, I am going to shift my search of ‘Why’ from Pre-decision to the post-decision phase. From “Why he took such a decision” to “Why he didn’t stop himself from actually acting upon that decision”. What knowledge could have we installed in his system so as to make him capable of thinking rationally in that critical situation.

And the solution that I propose comes from one of the links that I talked about earlier. It mentions a quote from our dean. Quoting it, “There are about 6,300 students at IIT-Kanpur. We can't keep an eye on all of them.” 

What if we could keep an eye on all of them. Would that give us a solution. Maybe, yes. But that seems tough, right ? What if we empower them to keep an eye on themselves. Now, the problem seems to ease out a bit.

Okay, but how can it be done? Allow me to present a few points to elucidate how I reached to one such solution.

1. I am currently enrolled in a course where the professor talked about suicides for three complete lectures (since the latest mishappening in the campus). And he inculcated some rationality into my views on this issue. He explained the various circumstances when a person is susceptible to committing a suicide.

After knowing all this, one can clearly identify when he is getting into a mood that can possibly lead to a suicide. And once that mood has been pinpointed, he can warn and pull himself out of that depression (not completely, but to the extent where suicide is not an option).

I strongly believe that none of the students doing this course would ever think of self-destruction in their life.

2. Now if this thinking can develop in students doing this course, then it can also be developed in the remaining junta. So, the solution lies in imparting this knowledge to all the students in this campus. We can do that by holding a lecture or a seminar on ‘Suicides’ but it has been done before and has not led to any fruitful outcomes.

Maybe because the students don’t attend them. But think of it as a polio vaccine. No matter, how reluctant the students are to discuss this issue, we have to infuse this awareness into them. (On that note, claps for becoming a polio-free nation. Now let’s build a suicide free one.)

3. So, the problem is, where can we get all the students together. It can’t be sports, music, dance etc because not all of us are indulged in any one of them. The only viable option is Academics.

3. Coming to academics, what are the courses that are compulsory for all the students. Clearly, PHY103, MTH101, HSSs ( Humanities & Social sciences ) etc are the options. HSSs should be preferred as:

i. They are more closely related to the issue than others.

ii. Talking about suicides in a class of 40-50 students would hit on a more personal level than say, a class of 500.

iii. It helps if we can do this early in their college life. And HSSs are compulsorily taken in the first year.

4. I propose that 2-3 lectures of every HSS course must be dedicated to talking about suicides. And it should be made mandatory.

5. But not all of us attend classes. And those who attend, sleep through some of them. So, how to access these students (remember, we can’t miss out on a single student). This leads me to exams. Every single one of us write exams.

The trick is in not only talking about suicides, but also making them think about it. Because, once we have thought/ read and spoken/written about something, it acquires a whole new different level of reality for us.

For example, if a guy likes Kejriwal but we make him write (at gunpoint) ten reasons why Kejriwal is a total jerk, there is a strong probability that he may consider believing in some of them.

So, my next proposition is that every mid-sem of an HSS course must contain a question on suicide. An example may be:
" What are suicides ? What are the various situations which leads to a suicide. Explain how tragic are the after effects of this experience for the victim’s family. "

Writing about these issues would put ideas in our subconscious mind. This act, done in the pre-decision phase might help a lot during those critical moments of post-decision.

6. Well, but a question has been leaked for the exams. It’s pointless to be worried about that. In fact, it’s an ideal situation. This question would carry free marks and nobody would want to lose them. So, it would be kind of mandatory to read about it. And it would hardly affect the grading as everybody would score at par on this question.

7. But the students would just mug up all the answers without understanding them. That's a valid point. But remember why we started studying physics ? Because it was mandatory to prepare for JEE. And eventually, we fell in love with it. So, let them mug it up. It;s enough that they read about it.

This was all about the solution that I had in my mind. The crux is to somehow make them aware of the consequences. I know this is not a perfect solution. If anything, it is far from perfect.

But this is not what this article was aimed at. Yes, a head fake ( Randy Pausch, anyone ? ). 

I wrote it for my own personal satisfaction. At the end of this post, I would know that I have not cribbed about yet another life being lost at an IIT. Instead, I tried to give a solution. 

And I would urge you all, and specially those who have shown their concerns on social platforms, to come up with a solution. Please come up with at least an idea. However silly it might look. Just think of something and throw it out in the open for discussion. 

I see a plethora of smart thinkers around me and I staunchly believe that if each one of us thinks hard on it, maybe, maybe we can get to that perfect solution.

But till then, let's make the students aware about the different aspects of suicides. Even if it means a forceful awareness.
Make them think about it. Make them read about it.
Or better, make them write about it.

IIT, IIT Suicides, Suicides

- See more at: http://www.invadecafe.com/article/30-suicides-at-iits:-a-prospective-solution#sthash.pCBhiZtA.dpuf

239 - Second suicide in a month gets IIT Kharagpur worried

Second suicide in a month gets IIT Kharagpur worried Monday, 31 March 2014 Kolkata, March 31: The second incident of a student allegedly committing suicide within a month at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, has raised deep concern among the authorities of the oldest IIT in the country. Fourth year Chemical Engineering student Lokesh Kumar Goyal (22) was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his hostel room late Sunday night. Confirming the incident, institute's Registrar T.K. Ghosal expressed his dismay over Goyal's death as he was good student and did not seem to suffer from any kind of depression. "His cumulative grade point average was about eight which is excellent. Moreover, he was jovial and did not seem to suffer from any kind of depression. We are finding it hard to fathom why he chose to end his life," Ghosal told IANS. The body was handed over to his family after a postmortem was conducted. Earlier this month 24-year-old S.Boga, a M.Tech student, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, too was found hanging from the ceiling. "We are extremely concerned with the twin incidents, we have a counseling center where a number of professional and experienced counselors are available whose services can be sought whenever a students feel like. "But then, there may be other issues in the personal domain which a student may not wish to divulge. In that case we are helpless. We are working to ensure that students seek counseling so that such a unfortunate incident can be prevented," added Ghosal. (IANS)

238 - Midnapore: IIT Kharagpur student commits suicide

Midnapore: IIT Kharagpur student commits suicide

Cities | Press Trust of India | Updated: March 31, 2014 22:29 

Midnapore, West Bengal:  An M.Tech student (dual course) of Chemical Engineering at IIT Kharagpur was found hanging from the ceiling fan of his room at the hostel, the police said today.

The fourth year student, Lokesh Kumar Goyel, 22, was found hanging from the ceiling fan of his room at Radhakrishnan Hall last night, SDPO of Kharagpur, Ajit Singh Yadav said.

The students informed the IIT authorities after Lokesh did not respond when his friends called him to have dinner last night, he said.

He hailed from Rajasthan and was a fourth year student at the IIT.

A suicide note written to his mother was found on the bed and the investigations are underway.

237 - Second suicide at IIT hostel in fortnight - Telegraph India

Second suicide at IIT hostel in fortnight

OUR CORRESPONDENT


Kharagpur, March 30: An IIT Kharagpur student hailing from Rajasthan was today found hanging from the ceiling of his hostel room and a note found on his bed said: “Mother, forgive me.”

Police said Lokesh Kumar Goyel, 22, a fourth-year chemical engineering student, apparently committed suicide because he was suffering from “some kind of depression”.

The alleged suicide comes days after another IIT student from Andhra Pradesh hanged himself to death on March 17, upset with not getting the job of his choice.

It could not be immediately confirmed if Lokesh, who was described by IIT authorities as a good student and a jovial person, was unhappy with any job interview.

A police officer said: “We found a three-line note lying on the bed addressed to his mother. The note said: ‘Mother forgive me for what I have done in four years’. However, the lines were scratched out with a pencil. We suspect the student was suffering from some kind of depression. We are waiting for the post-mortem report.”

IIT registrar Tapan Kumar Ghosal said the news of Lokesh’s death came as a “shock” to him. “It was a shock. He was a good student and performed well in his semesters. He was a jovial person, too. Yesterday, he had dinner with his friends in the hostel. We are surprised at the turn of events. We have informed the student’s family at Khanna in Karauli district of Rajasthan,” Ghosal said.

He added that Lokesh was preparing for an internship in Mumbai.

The body of Lokesh was today found by his friends who had come to call him for dinner. Doctors said the 22-year-old had died at least six to seven hours before being brought to the hospital.

“It was around 7.20pm and we were going for dinner. I went to call him but found the door of his room bolted from inside. When he did not respond to repeated knocking, I called some other inmates of the hostel and broke the door. We found him hanging from the ceiling fan. We informed the authorities and called an ambulance.”

A police officer said preliminary examination had revealed that Lokesh had tried to cut the veins of his left wrist and left leg but was unsuccessful.

The police said a team arrived from the station just outside the IIT campus within five minutes of being informed and brought down the body.

“When we took the student to B.C. Roy Hospital on the campus, doctors declared him dead on arrival,” a police officer said.

Today’s was the second alleged suicide at IIT Kharagpur in a month. On March 17, Boga Shravan, a student from Andhra Pradesh pursuing MTech in computer science, committed suicide as the job he got in a university offered a much lower salary than what he had aimed for.

On March 11, Shoaib Ahmed, an IIT Guwahati student hailing from North 24-Parganas, was found hanging from the ceiling of his hostel room. IIT Guwahati director Gautam Biswas had said Shoaib’s friends had told the authorities that the student had been suffering from depression. His family had contested the claim.

236 - IIT FINAL YEAR STUDENT COMMITS SUICIDE IN KHARAGPUR

IIT FINAL YEAR STUDENT COMMITS SUICIDE IN KHARAGPUR

MONDAY, 17 MARCH 2014 16:38.

A student of the premier Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) allegedly committed suicide, police sources said on Monday.

Boga Shravan (24), a final year M-Tech student of IIT (Kharagpur) was found hanging from the ceiling of his hostel room by his classmates, the sources said.

Shravan hails from Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh.

Additional Superintendent of Police of Kharagpur B. Chandrasekhar said as per initial investigation it was found that the campus placements of the final year students of M-Tech was held recently and Shravan got a job in the placement but it was not up to his expectation and was disheartened with the matter.

235 - IIT student commits suicide - The Hindu

MIDNAPORE, March 17, 2014

Updated: March 17, 2014 23:24 IST

IIT student commits suicide

SHIV SAHAY SINGH

A final year M. Tech student of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, allegedly committed suicide, institute officials said here on Monday. The student hailed from Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh. The body of Boga Shravan was found hanging from the ceiling of his hostel room. The 24-year-old was a boarder of the Madan Mohan Malaviya Hall on the institute.

‘Good student’

“He was a good student. Recently he was also placed with a company,” T.K. Ghoshal, the Registrar of the institute told The Hindu over telephone.

Stating that police investigations are on, Mr. Ghosal said there could be other issues which the officials of the institute were not aware of, and which may have led the student to take such an extreme step. Students said they got no response from his room when they went there to call him to participate in Holi festivities and later informed the authorities.

Suicides of students at premier IITs in the country has emerged as a major concern for the authorities as there have been a number of such incidents over the past few years.

234 - Alleging harassment by seniors-colleagues, IIT-Indore bus driver ends life - TNN

Alleging harassment by seniors-colleagues, IIT-Indore bus driver ends life

TNN | Feb 24, 2014, 12.21PM IST

INDORE: A 38-year-old driver working with Indian Institute of Technology ( IIT-Indore) committed suicide by consuming poison over alleged sustained mental harassment by colleagues and seniors, here on Sunday afternoon.

Ashok Billaure, a resident of Moosakhedi-Indore, has been working as a contractual bus driver at IIT-I. He consumed poison and went to the institute being run from the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) campus at around 2.30 pm. After he started vomiting inside the institute premises, his colleagues rushed him to MY hospital, where doctor declared him brought dead, said sub inspector at Bhanwarkuan police station and investigating officer, Y S Kushwah.

The police subsequently recovered a suicide note purportedly written by him from his pocket. The suicide note written in Hindi language, mentions sustained mental harassment by his transport supervisor Kulwant Singh Bhatia, Bhatia's son Harsimran and two other IIT employees -- Kailash Ajmeri and Narendra Yadav.

233 - IIT Roorkee student commits suicide - ZeeNews

IIT Roorkee student commits suicide

Last Updated: Thursday, February 13, 2014, 15:22

Dehradun: An IIT Roorkee student allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling fan inside his room in the hostel premises at Roorkee in Haridwar, police said on Thursday. 

25-year-old Udai Tanajirao Biradare, a second year M.Tech student at IIT Roorkee was found hanging from the ceiling fan of his hostel room yesterday, Circle officer Renu Loheni said.

Biradare hailed from Latur in Maharashtra, she said.

Police have recovered a suicide note from the spot which says the victim was taking the extreme step as he had let down his parents who had expected him to become a doctor. 

PTI

232 - IIT-Roorkee student commits suicide - TOI

IIT-Roorkee student commits suicide

TNN Feb 13, 2014, 04.44AM IST

Tags:

• Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee|
• IIT-Roorkee student commits suicide

HARIDWAR: A second year M Tech student of Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee allegedly committed suicide in his hostel room in the institute on Wednesday morning.

Udai Biradare, who belonged to Latur district of Maharashtra, is said to have hung himself with a rope from the ceiling fan of his room number DG 8 in Cautley Bhawan hostel of the institute.

A suicide note in Marathi and addressed to his parents was found beneath the student's laptop, said police officer Renu Loheni.

Sub-inspector Subhash said the police were informed on Wednesday morning about the incident. "The door was broken after we found it bolted from inside," he said. The body has been sent for postmortem.

"Once we receive the postmortem report, we can ascertain the exact time of the suicide. Prima facie, it appears the suicide was committed in the wee hours of the morning," Subhash said.

When contacted, the institute authorities refused to comment.

On February 6, 2011, third year B Tech student Manish Kumar had reportedly ended his life by jumping from the fifth floor of the hostel building.

231 - Ex-IITian seeks probe into suicides - TOI

Ex-IITian seeks probe into suicides

Faiz Rahman Siddiqui, TNN Feb 8, 2014, 10.30AM IST

KANPUR: Three days after an IIT-K student hailing from Raichur district of Karnataka allegedly committed suicide, ex-IITian and head of the department of mathematics, Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj University, VN Pal questioned the IIT-K authorities over several incidents of suicide by IIT-K students during the past nine years by launching a movement in front of IIT-K gate. He has further written to the President, seeking justice for students on Friday.

Pal demanded an inquiry to find out what happened on Tuesday night when Manjunath, a computer science student, a native of Raichur district of Karnataka, committed suicide. The student was found lying dead in his room on Wednesday morning. He alleged that the attitude of the IIT-K authorities and the local police towards the suicide incidents in the past nine years is callous and they are yet to find out the exact cause in even in one of the 11 suicide cases reported so far.

230 - IIT-Kanpur witnesses 13 suicides in less than 10 years

IIT-Kanpur witnesses 13 suicides in less than 10 years

ETV UP/Uttarakhand | Fri Feb 07, 2014 | 22:39 IST

According to an ETV report, around 13 students of IIT-Kanpur have committed suicide since 2005.

The report says that each time a student takes the extreme step, the institute management forms an inquiry committee but usually its recommendations remain in files and go unnoticed.

Noteworthy, Manjunath, a B.Tech 3rd year student, had committed suicide on Wednesday by hanging himself from the ceiling fan in his hostel room.

Watch Video at this url

http://www.news18.com/videos/uttar-pradesh/iit-kanpur-witnesses-13-suicides-in-less-than-10-years-354751.html

229 - Yet Another IIT Kanpur Student Commits Suicide - New Indian Express

Yet Another IIT Kanpur Student Commits Suicide

By Subhash Mishra - LUCKNOW

Published: 07th February 2014 09:32 AM

Last Updated: 07th February 2014 09:32 AM

A funereal air prevailed at the IIT Kanpur as the students and faculty struggled to come to terms with the suicide of yet another bright youngster, which brought the total number of student suicides at the premier institution in the past decade to 11.

The victim , Manjunath, who hailed from Karnataka,was found dead in his hostel room on  Wednesday. A second-year student, the physically challenged lad has had to cope with personal tragedies at a very young age-- his father having expired and sister committing suicide last year. “But despite the challenges he was very studious, bright and had a very promising future,” some of his batchmates told Express over the phone on Thursday.

If the suicide were an isolated incident on the campus,it would have been viewed as a tragic interlude. But the fact that it was the latest in the spate of suicides on the campus made it that much more difficult to paper over.

The usual practice is to hold a condolence meeting after every suicide and afterwards it will be business as usual,while the issues that prompted the victim to take the extreme step remain unaddressed. The actual causes resulting in the tragedy range from stratospheric ambition to academic pressure.

Authorities, however, denied this saying that they had adopted the best measures possible to support the students. According to an official spokesman, even Manjunath’s guardian had lauded the IIT-K for extending its wholehearted support to him.

While Students welfare Dean and faculty A K Ghosh, who spoke to Express from Kanpur, attributed parental and peer pressure as the triggering factors for pushing the students over the edge, he was also critical of the reportage and said the IIT-K had put in place the best practices to help out the wards.

228 - IIT-Kanpur student commits suicide by F wire Feb 5, 2014 - First Post

IIT-Kanpur student commits suicide by F wire Feb 5, 2014

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/iit-kanpur-student-commits-suicide-1375963.html?utm_source=ref_article

Lucknow, Feb 5 (IANS) A student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur Wednesday committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling fan in his hostel room, police said. Manjunath, a B.Tech IIIrd year student, was pursuing computer schience at the premier institute and hailed from Karnataka. Police officials said that the student was found hanging by the ceiling fan in Hall 5 hostel Wednesday morning by his classmates. Kalyanpur police station in-charge Anand Prakash Mishra told IANS that friends of Manjunath said he was apparently suffering from stress and depression. This is the third suicide in IIT-K campus since December last year. Authorities said that formalities were being completed and added that the family of the dead student has been informed. This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/iit-kanpur-student-commits-suicide-1375963.html?utm_source=ref_article

227 - IIT-Kanpur student from Karnataka commits suicide - The Hindu

LUCKNOW, February 5, 2014

Updated: February 5, 2014 14:51 IST

IIT-Kanpur student from Karnataka commits suicide

A student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur on Wednesday committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling fan in his hostel room, police said.

Manjunath, a B.Tech third year student, was pursuing computer science at the premier institute. He is from Karnataka.

Police officials said that the student was found hanging by the ceiling fan in Hall 5 hostel on Wednesday morning by his classmates.

Kalyanpur police station in-charge Anand Prakash Mishra told IANS that friends of Manjunath said he was apparently suffering from stress and depression.

This is the third suicide in IIT-K campus since December last year.

Authorities said that formalities were being completed and added that the student’s family has been informed.

Keywords: Uttar Pradesh, IIT-Kanpur, Karnataka student, Suicide, Mental depression

226 - IIT-Kanpur student commits suicide - Two Circles

IIT-Kanpur student commits suicide

Submitted by admin4 on 5 February 2014 - 1:42pm

By IANS,

Lucknow : A student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur Wednesday committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling fan in his hostel room, police said.

Manjunath, a B.Tech IIIrd year student, was pursuing computer science at the premier institute and hailed from Karnataka.

Police officials said that the student was found hanging by the ceiling fan in Hall 5 hostel Wednesday morning by his classmates.

Kalyanpur police station in-charge Anand Prakash Mishra told IANS that friends of Manjunath said he was apparently suffering from stress and depression.

This is the third suicide in IIT-K campus since December last year.

Authorities said that formalities were being completed and added that the family of the dead student has been informed.

225 - 26-year-old IIT-B student committed suicide in Andhra lodge, say police

26-year-old IIT-B student committed suicide in Andhra lodge, say police

Wednesday, January 22, 2014 - 11:06 IST | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

DNA Correspondent

The PhD student of IIT Bombay, whose was found dead in Visakhapatnam is learnt to have committed suicide, said the Mumbai police.

The body of M Siva Theja, 26, was recovered from a lodge in Visakhapatnam on January 18, four days after he was reported missing.

Senior inspector Yadavrao Jadhav of Powai police station said, “We have now learnt that he committed suicide. We have asked the local police to send us a report so that we can conduct further investigations and look at all possible angles.”

The Visakhapatnam police had found a polythene taped to Theja’s face and around his fingers. A plastic tape roll was found near the body. His dismantled mobile phone and ID card were found in the room.

The PhD student had left the campus without informing anyone. Initially, sources had said that the death could have been caused by suffocation, and that the post-mortem report had not indicated poisoning.

Theja had reached the Visakhapatnam lodge on January 16. The incident came to light on January 18 when the room-cleaning staff suspected something amiss after failing to get any response from Theja.

Theja’s parents had lodged a missing complaint with the Mumbai police on January 15 after they lost contact with their son. They were staying at the IIT-B guest house but rushed to Visakhapatnam on January 18, an IIT official said.  

IIT-B officials and students said PhD students often go on trips or for interviews without informing anyone; so, his absence had not raised any suspicion.  

“Theja had not shown any sign of depression. In fact, he was a bright student and had recently helped organise a conference,” said Urjit Yajnik, dean of students’ affairs.

224 - IIT student's death: No poison found in body- TOI

IIT student's death: No poison found in body

Sulogna Mehta & V Kamalakara Rao, TNN Jan 21, 2014, 12.44PM IST

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Vizag police is yet to get to the bottom of the mysterious death of 26-year-old IIT Mumbai PhD scholar M Sivatheja, who was found dead in a city lodge on Saturday (January 18). However, the city cops decided to send a team of one sub-inspector and three constables to Mumbai to look for more clues in the case.

Confirming this to TOI, city police commissioner B Shivadhar Reddy said, "We are planning to send a local police team to Mumbai as part of our investigation, mostly by Monday evening or Tuesday. At the same time, we are also expecting a team from Mumbai police to arrive in the city. However, we have not received any communication from Mumbai police in the Sivatheja case so far."

Meanwhile, official sources said Sivatheja's death was caused by suffocation and the report of the postmortem that was performed at KGH did not find any signs of poisoning prima facie. However, to rule out the possibility of poisoning entirely, the viscera have been sent for clinical analysis. "The clinical analysis report is yet to arrive," a reliable source revealed on Monday.

Meanwhile, YVR Reddy, a distant relative of Sivatheja residing in Vizag, said that Sivatheja neither had any friends nor foes in Vizag. He said that the IIT scholar was an introvert and the two or three friends he had were all settled abroad.

He also pointed out that Sivatheja did not have any problems with his family too as the parents, particularly his father, had given him full freedom and support in his education.

"We were all shocked to hear of his demise. We are also puzzled about his decision to come to Vizag and take the extreme step. He was an intelligent guy and the nature of the suicide and the steps he took to resort to kill self is an example of his intelligence," Reddy added.

Sivatheja's face was found wrapped with a thick polythene sheet taped at the neck and his fingers too were taped with plastic tape. "The family feels he may have resorted to the extreme step because of some mental depression or pressure in his studies," Reddy said.

Meanwhile, his family members, who refused to be identified, revealed that the last person Sivatheja might have spoken to could be his cousin brother (son of his mother's sister), V Siva Santan Reddy, a PhD scholar studying in electrical engineering at IIT Kharagpur.

"Sivatheja might have spoken to Santan for nearly 20 minutes on last Sunday (January 12). Perhaps Sivatheja's last phone call was to Santan Reddy," a source pointed out. Before coming to Vizag, Sivatheja reportedly drew about Rs 5,000 from a Canara Bank ATM somewhere, including Mumbai, the sources added.

However, when TOI tried to track down Sivatheja's academic details on the IIT Mumbai website, it threw up three research projects in the name of Sivatheja M and some other students in 2009 and 2010.

223 - IIT-B student's 'strange' death baffles doctors - TOI

IIT-B student's 'strange' death baffles doctors

Yogita Rao & Sulogna Mehta, TNN Jan 22, 2014, 04.05AM IST

MUMBAI: IIT-B's electrical engineering department held a condolence meeting in the memory of its PhD student M Siva Theja (26) on Tuesday. Several students, faculty members and the staff from his department were present at the meet.

Siva was found dead in a lodge in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. His face was covered with a polythene sheet and taped at the neck; his fingers too were taped. While the Vizag police are yet to ascertain the nature of the death, they have not sent their team for investigation to Mumbai. Doctors at Vizag's King George Hospital termed the death "strange and rare".

A hospital source said, "The plastic was removed from the mouth when the body was brought to the mortuary for post-mortem, the plastic cover was removed from the mouth. However, the transparent adhesive tape was rolled onto each finger of both the hands and no suicide note was found. But the door was bolted from inside." Though doctors have confirmed that the death was due to suffocation, they are awaiting the viscera report, which will take two to four weeks, to rule out poisoning.

An IIT-B official said Siva had switched off his cellphone when he was on the institute campus. "The last connectivity was tracked down to the institute. It is difficult to determine when he left the city."

Siva was pursuing research in network and control theory and was about to submit a thesis this summer. "He was in the advanced stage of his research and one of our brightest candidates. He was good at academics and was popular in the department," said professor Ajay Karandikar, head of department. Siva's death is a great loss to the department, he saidas he had a promising career

But very few students from the hostel where he stayed knew him, claimed a hostel council member. He stayed on the fourth floor of hostel 14's A wing. Another student said Siva had already accepted a post doctoral position, before the news of his death shocked them all.

222 - Teenage Girl Commits Suicide After Failing to Crack IIT Entrance - New Indian Express

Teenage Girl Commits Suicide After Failing to Crack IIT Entrance

By PTI - VISAKHAPATANAM

Published: 19th January 2014 08:49 PM

Last Updated: 19th January 2014 08:49 PM

A 19-year-old management course student committed suicide today by jumping from third floor of her apartment near Kirlampudi Layout as she was reportedly upset over her failure to clear the entrance test for IIT, police said.   

K Swetha, the first year student of Bachelor of Business Management (BBM), wanted to join IIT but failed twice to crack the entrance test, they said.

          

Swetha was the student of Gayatri Vidya Parishad in the city. Her father K S Chalam is the Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Tax Department.            

"Swetha flung herself to the ground from the balcony of her third floor flat when her parents were asleep. She died on the spot due to severe head injuries," police said.

Police sub-inspector A. Hari Babu said Swetha was taking psychiatric treatment.             

Police found a suicide note, purportedly written by her, in which she apologised to her parents and mentioned the cause behind taking the extreme step as her failure to pass the entrance test.

A case was registered in this regard and Swetha's body was shifted to a government hospital for postmortem.

221 - IIT Student Found Dead in Vizag Lodge

IIT Student Found Dead in Vizag Lodge

By Express News Service - VISAKHAPATNAM

Published: 19th January 2014 08:14 AM

Last Updated: 19th January 2014 08:14 AM

A 26-year-old student of IIT-Mumbai was found dead in a hotel room under suspicious circumstances at Dwarakanagar here on Saturday.

Police suspect suicide but did not find any suicide note on him. The youth’s parents, who live in Hyderabad, have been informed of the death.

S Sivateja checked into Room No. 102 of Ashwini Lodge at Dwarakanagar on Thursday (Jan 16) afternoon.

He came out on Friday asking the staff for a water bottle but had  not been seen ever since. When the staff went to his room to enquire about lunch and dinner, he did not respond.

The room cleaning staff went to the room on Saturday morning around 8.30 but the door bell nor a hard banging on the door elicited no  response.

Suspecting something wrong, the hotel staff informed the Four Town police who broke open the door and found Sivateja’s body leaning on the bathroom door.

His head was wrapped with a plastic cover which was taped around the neck, making its removal difficult. The police suspect that the deceased tried to commit suicide by asphyxiating himself using the plastic cover.

Upon searching him, the police found the dismantled components of his cellphone, an identity card and other personal belongings. They reassembled the components of the cellphone, got the phone number and informed his parents of his death.

Speaking to Express, Sivateja’s relative Rami Reddy said that Sivateja was a brilliant student and was doing PhD in electronics and communications engineering at IIT-Mumbai.

When he did not respond to their calls, his parents went to Mumbai from Hyderabad on January 16 and lodged a missing complaint with the police. They learnt that he had not been seen on the campus since January 13, Reddy said.

Doubts are being raised over the reasons for his death as Sivateja could have committed suicide in his room on the campus in Mumbai if he wanted to and had no reason to go all the way to Vizag.

Four Town police sub-inspector S Somayajulu told Express that Sivateja’s parents  lodged a missing complaint with the Mumbai police a couple of days ago after he had gone out of contact with them.

While the police are yet to ascertain Sivateja’s purpose of visit to Vizag, they suspect that he might have come to meet someone as he took a double bedroom though he came alone. He carried a small luggage and paid an advance of Rs 500 towards room rent.

Basing on preliminary investigation,  police think Sivateja committed suicide. Tbey launched an investigation to determine the right cause of death.

220 - Hyderabad youth commits suicide in Visakhapatnam lodge - TNN

Hyderabad youth commits suicide in Visakhapatnam lodge

TNN Jan 19, 2014, 04.15AM IST

VISAKHAPATNAM: A 26-year-old PhD scholar from Hyderabad was found dead at a lodge in the RTC complex area here on Saturday after the police broke open the doors of his room following an alert by the lodge staff.

The youth has been identified as M Siva Teja, the second child of Rajasekhar Reddy, a private sector employee residing in Hyderabad's ECIL area. His parents originally belong to a village near Pulivendula in Kadapa district. Teja was doing his PhD at IIT-Mumbai.

Though the police suspect it to be a case of suicide, they are also investigating the murder angle as the scholar's face was found covered with a thick polythene sheet and they did not find any suicide note. The cops are also looking into the possibility of a love affair going awry as a reason for his suicide and they suspect the girl could be from the city.

According to sources, Siva Teja had landed in the city on January 16 and checked in at Aswini Lodge opposite the RTC complex in the Asilmetta area. Though he has relatives in the city, he chose to stay in the lodge. He was last spotted by the lodge staff on Friday morning when he stepped out to buy a water bottle.

The staff at the lodge knocked on his doors during lunch and dinner time on Friday but didn't get any response. Sensing something amiss when Siva Teja failed to respond to theirk door nocks on Saturday morning too, the staff immediately informed the Dwaraka Zone cops, who rushed to the lodged and broke open the doors of the room.

The cops, led by inspector Elia Babu and sub-inspector Soma Raju found the youth's body in a totally decomposed state in the bathroom. What was even more shocking was that the student's face was covered up to the neck in a polythene sheet and wrapped with a plastic tape and the fingers of both his hands too were taped.

According to sources, Siva Teja remained incommunicado since early this month and his worried parents had rushed to Mumbai after he could not be contacted over the past few days. A missing complaint was lodged at Andheri police station on January 13.

According to Siva Teja's relative Venkat Ram, who resides in Vizag, Teja had worked briefly in a Bangalore-based firm after completing his MTech and later quit his job to take up his PhD at IIT-Mumbai. "He last spoke to his parents on January 12 and since January 13 his phone was switched off. They sent his friend, who also studies at IIT Mumbai, to look for him but he found his room locked. Worried Teja's parents immediately rushed to Mumbai, spoke to the IIT Mumbai top brass and lodged a police complaint," said Venkat Ram.

The deceased youth's parents have rushed to Vizag after being informed by Vizag police about the incident. Siva Teja's body has been shifted to King George Hospital for autopsy.

219 - Can't keep an eye on all students, says IIT-Kanpur Dean - Business Standard

Can't keep an eye on all students, says IIT-Kanpur Dean after

Press Trust of India  |  Kanpur  January 3, 2014

Following the death of a student of IIT-Kanpur on January 1 under mysterious circumstances here, a Dean of the premier institute today said the administration "can't keep an eye" on every student.

"There are about 6,300 students at IIT-Kanpur. We can't keep an eye on all of them whether they are in their rooms or moving around on rail tracks," Students Welfare Dean Prof A K Ghosh said.

He said the student's body has been handed over to his parents, after a post-mortem.

The body of G Sai Kumar Reddy (20), a resident of Prakasham district in Andhra Pradesh, was found along the Kanpur-Farrukhabad railway line on January 1.

As per the post-mortem report, he was hit by a heavy object on head, due to which it is assumed that he might have been hit by a train accidentally, Ghosh said, adding he does not believe that Reddy had committed suicide.

Reddy's family believes the student was not under any mental agony or pressure and he has not left any suicide note either, he said.

The police report also says it could be an accidental death, he added.

Asked if it was, indeed, an accident, then why a four-member probe panel has been formed, Ghosh said the committee will find out the truth about the incident.

This is the 10th incident at IIT-Kanpur since 2005 in which a student has died under mysterious circumstances, according to an official of the institute.

According to an RTI reply, eight students have committed suicide at IIT-Kanpur between 2005 and 2010, but the institute never formed a committee to probe the incidents but only constituted fact-finding committees.

The institute said, in its reply to the RTI query, that they can't reveal the findings of the committee to media or public as it was its internal matter.

218 - IIT-K student death: Parents suspect murder - TNN

IIT-K student death: Parents suspect murder

TNN Jan 3, 2014, 12.37AM IST

Ongole: The mysterious death of IIT Kanpur student G Sai Kumar Reddy left his parents shell-shocked. A native of Prakasam district, Sai Kumar was a second year engineering (materials science) student at IIT, Kanpur. 

The boy's father Srinivasulu Reddy is a constable with Armed Reserve police in Ongole town. Srinivasulu Reddy suspects that his son could have been murdered. He said his son was not a coward to commit suicide.

217 - IIT graduate commits suicide - Business Standard

IIT graduate commits suicide

Press Trust of India  |  Patna  January 1, 2014

An IIT-Kanpur graduate today committed suicide at his home in Salimpur Ahra area in the state capital, a police officer said.

The 28-year-old Ayush Kirti hanged himself to death from a ceiling fan apparently due to depression as he was not able to get a job for some years, Gandhi Maidan police station in-charge Rajbindu said.

The body has been sent for post-mortem and a case has been registered, he said.

216 - Suicide or Murder: IIT Kanpur student from Andhra Pradesh found dead - One India

Suicide or Murder: IIT Kanpur student from Andhra Pradesh found dead 

Posted by: Nairita Updated: Thursday, January 2, 2014, 12:37 [IST]

Kanpur:Jan 2: G Saikumar Reddy, a young engineering student of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur has been found dead in a suspicious circumstances. Body of the 19-year-old student has been found alongside railway track in city on Wednesday, Jan 1. Kanpur Police have not yet disclosed the reasons behind his death. 

According to sources, initial evidences hinted that it was a case of suicide. However, cops also claimed that it could be a case of murder. Reddy's body was found with severe head injuries in the wee hours of Wednesday. He hailed from Prakasham district of Andhra Pradesh. He was a second year Materials Science and Engineering student. Reddy's body was found with severe head injuries in the wee hours of Wednesday Police collected autopsy report which said that the reason behind the death was head injury. 

Meanwhile, IIT-Kanpur too has begun a probe into the case to ascertain the reason behind Reddy's death. AK Ghosh, Dean of Students Affairs, was quoted as saying, "We are investigating the case. We can't call it a suicide as his body was not cut into pieces and he might have gone out and hit the train accidentally. There is a dhaba near the accident spot." 

Overruling any report suggesting that the student was in depression, Mr Ghosh added, "We are investigating it. He was an average student." His parents have been informed about the incident and they are yet to reach Kanpur. The institute had expressed condolence with the sudden demise of the student. 

OneIndia News

Read more at: http://news.oneindia.in/india/suicide-or-murder-iit-kanpur-student-from-andhra-pradesh-found-dead-1369020.html 

215 - IIT-M student kills himself in hostel room - New Indian Express

IIT-M student kills himself in hostel room

By Express News Service - CHENNAI

Published: 04th November 2013 08:13 AM

Last Updated: 04th November 2013 08:13 AM

A first year Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)- Madras student, who had joined the joined the course hardly three months ago, allegedly committed suicide by hanging, in his hostel room on Saturday.

Nineteen-year-old Akshay Kumar, a native of Baran district in Rajasthan, was found hanging by one of his roommates around 10.30 pm in the Bamba Hostel wing where he was staying. Akshay Kumar was a B Tech (Chemical Engineering) student.

Since no suicide note was left by him, the Kotturpuram police, who are investigating the case, said they were unable to ascertain the reason for the suicide.

The body was handed over to Akshay Kumar’s father Nanda Kishore Kumar, who reached the city on Sunday.

“His father also could not give a proper reason for his suicide. He joined the college only in July and had mostly kept to himself. He hardly interacted with his classmates or roommates. So they were not able to give much details about what was worrying him,” said sub-inspector Velu.

On Saturday evening, all of his roommates had left for a movie when Kumar hanged himself in the room.

The Facebook profile of Akshay Kumar spoke about his loneliness.

“Alone But Always” reads the caption of his profile.

214 - IIT-Madras student hangs himself - TNN

IIT-Madras student hangs himself

TNN Nov 4, 2013, 03.49AM IST

CHENNAI: A first-year student of chemical engineering committed suicide in his hostel room at Indian Institute of Technology-Madras on Friday night.

The 18-year-old student, Akshay Kumar Meena, from Kota in Rajasthan, was found hanging himself from the ceiling fan in his room in Pampa Hostel, IIT officials said. They said it was not immediately clear what provoked Meena to commit suicide as he did not leave behind a suicide note.

This is the third suicide of a student in an IIT Madras hostel in the past two years.

Meena joined the institution in July 2013. His friends and hostel-mates said they did not notice anything out of the usual in Meena's behaviour and they could not think of any reason why he would kill himself.

"He was very active in student groups and participated in events in the hostels," a friend said, requesting that his name not be revealed. "He was not bad at studies."

Meena made a call to his father at 8.30pm. "His father said there was nothing unusual about the call and his son did not indicate that he had any problem," an IIT-M official said.

Meena's friends found him hanging in his room when they returned to the hostel at 10.15pm, after Friday's weekly movie screening at the institute.

"His room was locked from inside. When he did not open the door even though we knocked on it for several minutes, we stood on a stool and peeped through the ventilator of his room," Meena's friend said. "We were shocked to see a rope tied to the ceiling fan."

He said the immediately informed security officers and the medical department in the campus. "But he was dead by the time they forced open the door," the friend said.

Meena was supposed to see the movie with his friends but he left the venue at 8.30pm, even before the film was screened. "His last Facebook post, along with his picture, said, 'I am alone, but I am happy'," another friend said.

"Police are still investigating the case," IIT-M dean of students L S Ganesh said. "We are shocked," he said. "He joined the institution barely three months ago. His friends did not observe any change in him and he was a fairly good student."

Police sent the body Royapettah Government Hospital for postmortem. Meena's father, Nanda Kishore, arrived in Chennai on Saturday. He will take the body back to Kota on Monday morning.

213 - MTech student from IIT slits wrist, saved - TNN

MTech student from IIT slits wrist, saved

Yogita Rao, Oct 2, 2013, 05.05AM IST

MUMBAI: An MTech student from IIT-Bombay attempted suicide last week in his hostel room on the campus. The post-graduate student slit his wrist, and after a while approached the security guards outside the hostel. He had lost a lot of blood by then. The guards rushed him to the institute's hospital, saving him in the nick of time.

While the institute officials have not been able to ascertain the reason, the student has left for his hometown with his parents and will be back after a while. A senior institute official said that the student was under some stress. 

"We have not managed to establish the reason behind his act. But students go through tremendous pressure at this age. They feel responsible for their family. 

Getting a good job during the placement season also is worrisome for many. It is not just the BTech students who are under stress," said the official.

212 - IIT professor found dead - Economic Times

IIT professor found dead

PTI Aug 29, 2013, 12.37PM IST

DEHRADUN: A senior professor at IIT, Roorkee, was found dead at his flat on the campus with his throat slit, a senior police official said.

60-year-old Arun Kumar, a senior professor in the Electrical Computer Science Department of the Institution was found lying in a pool of blood at his flat with his throat slit by his maid servant yesterday, Haridwar SSP Rajiv Swaroop said.

Though the cause of his death is being probed, the possibility of a suicide or murder cannot be ruled out, he said.

Kumar lived alone in the flat since the death of his wife a few years ago, he said.

Two of his daughters stay abroad while one stays in Gurgaon, he said.

The elderly professor is said to have been suffering from depression since the death of his wife, he said, adding that the case is being investigated from all angles.

211 - IIT professor's brutal murder leaves Roorkee shocked - TNN

IIT professor's brutal murder leaves Roorkee shocked

DS Kunwar, TNN Aug 31, 2013, 03.35AM IST

ROORKEE: It's a murder that has left this quaint and quiet Uttarakhand town, flanked by the spectacular Himalayas, edgy and baffled. The bizarre and brutal killing of IIT Roorkee professor Arun Kumar (60) has rattled cops into launching one of the biggest manhunts hereabouts, left the academic community banging their heads as to what exactly happened, and the townsfolk talking about the strange misfortune of the professor's family: two of his previous wives committed suicide.

Prof Kumar, who taught electrical computer science ever since IIT-Roorkee came into being 12 years ago, was found murdered with his throat slit and right ribs cut, on Wednesday. His wrists were slashed as well. His colleagues informed the police after they came to know about it through a maid servant, who was the first to discover the body.

The killing has shaken not only the academic community and young technocrats in the IIT campus but also a cross-section of people in the small town. "Prof Kumar was a respected member of the academic community and among students in the campus and the town," said a retired college teacher in Roorkee who knew him.

"It has shocked us," said another teacher. "He was known to be a bit reclusive. His violent death does raise security issues within the campus," he added. "If police fail to arrest those responsible for murder of an eminent person like Prof Kumar, how can we expect them to give us security," said an electronics' equipment dealer Mohammed Hatim.

Members of Roorkee Vyapar Sangh and other social and non-political organizations in Haridwar have demanded action. "The way Kumar was killed inside his flat shows deteriorating law and order," said former Roorkee Nagar Palika chairman Dinesh Kaushik.

One of Prof Kumar's three daughters, Geetika Gupta, who rushed from Gurgaon after cops informed her about the death, said, "The way my father was found dead, with multiple and deep injuries, it's obvious he was murdered. The question of suicide does not arise."

Haridwar SSP Rajiv Swaroop told TOI that unidentified people have been booked for Kumar's murder on the basis of the FIR lodged by Geetika. Her sisters live abroad.

"We're working on different murder theories including the possible involvement of those close to Kumar. This would include relatives of his two wives, Madhulika and Sadhna, both of whom committed suicide," said a police officer. The maid will be questioned as well.

According to police, while his first wife Madhulika committed suicide by burning herself, his second wife, who worked with State Bank of India's Roorkee branch too killed herself around two years ago. Kumar has three daughters from his first wife Madhulika and no children from Sadhna.

An eight-member police team led by SP Ajay Singh is investigating the case. "We are working on all possible angles including involvement of those close to Kumar."

A professor in IIT campus said Kumar lived all alone. He had weak eyesight and had trouble moving about. Because of this he rarely left home after sunset, the professor added. A police officer in Haridwar said the postmortem confirmed that Prof Kumar's death was caused due to excessive bleeding from a deep slit in his throat by a sharp weapon.

210 - Suicide or murder: IIT-Roorkee professor found dead with his throat slit - Daily Bhaskar

Suicide or murder: IIT-Roorkee professor found dead with his throat slit

PTI | Aug 29, 2013, 12:45PM IST

Dehradun: A senior professor at IIT, Roorkee, was found dead at his flat on the campus with his throat slit, a senior police official said on Thursday.

60-year-old Arun Kumar, a senior professor in the Electrical Computer Science Department of the Institution, was found lying in a pool of blood at his flat with his throat slit by his maid servant on Wednesday, Haridwar SSP Rajiv Swaroop said.

Though the cause of his death is being probed, the possibility of a suicide or murder cannot be ruled out, he said.

Kumar lived alone in the flat since the death of his wife a few years ago, he said.

Two of his daughters stay abroad while one stays in Gurgaon, he said.

The elderly professor is said to have been suffering from depression since the death of his wife, he said, adding that the case is being investigated from all angles.

209 - IIT Roorkee professor found dead on campus - TNN

IIT Roorkee professor found dead on campus

D S Kunwar, TNN Aug 28, 2013, 06.35PM IST

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand police on Wednesday stepped up security in IITRoorkee after the body of a professor was found with his throat slit in his flat on campus.

Haridwar SSP Rajiv Swaroop said the body of senior professor in Electrical Computer Science department Ajay Kumar (60) was recovered on Wednesday.

Swaroop said police have yet to find out whether Kumar who was living alone in his official flat at the IIT campus committed suicide or was murdered.

"Till now, it is a mysterious case as circumstantial evidence gathered from the spot was not enough to ascertain the exact circumstances leading to Kumar's death," he said.

SP (rural) Ajay Singh said, "Police investigation is on. The possibility of murder can not be ruled out."

A senior professor in IIT said Kumar was often depressed due to his loneliness and had made an unsuccessful attempt to commit suicide two years ago. He said that Kumar's wife Madhulika had committed suicide two years ago and his three daughters resided abroad.

Singh said a case has been registered and the body sent for post-mortem examination. "We are still waiting for Kumar's close relatives to record their statements," said inspector-general of police (law and order) R S Meena.